Sandslash (Update, GP 2/2)

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Note: There is a heck of a lot of bold in here. I do ask that you read the two analyses together though. I bolded even the most minor of changes, and a lot of these are just re-wording the current one to be more specific or clear. I mean, I literally bolded something I was saying the exact same thing, just in a different way. That actually accounts for about half of it. Like I said, I like the writing style of the current one, and I wouldn't want to change it too much. It's not as drastic as it first appears.

[Overview]

<p>Sandslash is a Pokemon riddled with very exploitable weaknesses. With pitiful Speed and Special Defense stats, as well as a rather small offensive movepool, it's completely natural to reject the idea of using Sandslash in OU initially. However, with its Dream World ability—Sand Rush—Sandslash becomes a notable threat in the OU metagame. Being a Ground-type, Sandslash has access to a decent movepool, passable bulk on the physical side, and impeccable coverage in the celebrated EdgeQuake combination. Moreover, Sandslash's access to Rapid Spin allows it to serve as a fearsome offensive Rapid Spinner for Sand teams. Sandslash's movepool, notably Swords Dance and Rapid Spin, give it strong reasons to be used over the faster and bulkier Stoutland, who also has access to Sand Rush.</p>

<p>Despite all of its mentioned perks, Sandslash is by no means invincible. There are many, many Pokemon that can place Sandslash in a tight situation, usually through means of harping on its average offenses, feeble Special Defense stat, and / or inability to outpace a few notable threats after a Sand Rush boost. Additionally, Sandslash is much less of a team player than other Pokemon, as changing the weather makes it very slow and vulnerable. Proper team support and, more importantly, patience, are necessary when using Sandslash.</p>

[All I did was change the wording in a couple places for clarity's sake. I gave Stoutland its own sentence, because player should at least get a brief idea of what the advantages of each are.]

<p>Sandslash can pull off a Swords Dance set similar in playstyle to Excadrill's to great success. After the activation of Sand Rush, Sandslash can reach a Speed stat as high as 502, giving it the ability to easily outpace and subsequently KO many of the more offensively oriented Pokemon in OU. The above choice of moves is ideal for Sandslash if it's to be used in OU. Swords Dance is the crux of this set, quickly boosting Sandslash's Attack stat to threatening levels. When backed by a Swords Dance boost, Sandslash is even capable of powering through some of OU's premier walls, which is something that Stoutland occasionally struggles with. Earthquake, being Sandslash's strongest STAB option, is capable of blasting through many of OU's grounded inhabitants while Stone Edge nails most of what resists or is immune to Earthquake. Rapid Spin helps Sandslash maintain pressure on more defensive teams and gives it the ability to greatly support its own team; however, X-Scissor lets Sandslash power through bulky Psychic-types that take little or no damage from Earthquake, such as Celebi and Latias. Make the moveset choices which best accommodate your team.</p>

<p>The recommended EV spread is one that aims to simply give Sandslash as much speed and power as possible. With a Jolly nature, Sandslash is able to outpace the majority of the metagame under Sand, everything up to and including Choice Scarf Garchomp. A Jolly nature also enables Sandslash to serve as a potent revenge-killer, KOing threats such as Scarf Thundurus-T, as well as Volcarona after a Quiver Dance, and Salamence, Dragonite, and Gyarados after a Dragon Dance. However, do note that Stealth Rock will be necessary for some of these KOes. Using an Adamant nature on this set is a perfectly acceptable choice, as it allows Sandslash to serve as a superior Rapid Spinner. For example, a +2 Earthquake from Adamant Sandslash will almost always KO Jellicent after Stealth Rock, while Jolly Sandslash will fail to do so most of the time. Just beware that with an Adamant nature, Sandslash's revenge-killing capabilities will be severely handicapped, as it can now be out-sped by Choice Scarf Landorus-T and everything faster.</p>

[I put more emphasis on Sandslash's ability to revenge-kill, because that is it's best role in my experience. I removed Rock Slide, and am going to put it into OO. I have calcs showing why Rock Slide is not a good move for revenge-killing, because it requires a fair bit of prior damage on most of the threats you would use it against. I moved Adamant nature out of the main set, but I think I gave it a fair shake in that it lets Sandslash beat Jellicent. That said, I bet QC will move Adamant back into the main set, and it's you guys' call.]

[Additional Comments]

<p>Life Orb is recommended as the item of choice here as the power it gives to Sandslash is needed to muscle through some of OU's premier defensive Pokemon. Jellicent and 4/0 Breloom, for example, can be OHKOed by a Life Orb-boosted +2 Earthquake. If Sandslash's longevity is of more importance than its damage output, then running Leftovers instead can be a viable choice. Leftovers will serve Sandslash well if its role on the team is primarily its ability to Rapid Spin, as it will allow him to come in and Spin more times throughout the match. However, Sandslash's Attack is not superb, and you may find that Sandslash is constantly losing out on KOs without a Life Orb to compensate. If Sandslash's lifespan is truly of great concern, then Wish support may be a better way to keep it healthy. Teammates exist for a reason; make use of the other five slots that Sandslash will be accompanied by.</p>

<p>Due to Sandslash's reliance on sandstorm being up and difficulty getting around physical walls, Tyranitar makes a superb partner for it. Tyranitar, with either a mixed or Choice Band set, can take out most of the Pokemon that give Sandslash problems while setting up a permanent sandstorm. If Sandslash is not using Rapid Spin, then it will attract many common users of Spikes and Stealth Rock, such as Skarmory, Forretress, and Hippowdon. This makes packing another user of Rapid Spin or Magic Bounce a very beneficial move, particularly Xatu for its longevity with Roost and its ability to go toe-to-toe with the Grass-types which can plague Sandslash. Gothitelle can trap and KO pretty much everything that Sandslash normally has trouble with, including Skarmory and Gliscor (which otherwise wall Sandslash hoplelessly), and especially Ninetales and Politoed, preventing them from crippling Sandslash with their respective weather. Another excellent trapping partner is Magnezone, which can easily remove Skarmory, Forretress, or Ferrothorn, all of which are obstacles to a Sandslash sweep. Bulky Pokemon that resist Grass- or Water-type moves, such as Latias, Latios, Kyurem-B, or even Grass-types themselves, make superb partners for Sandslash, freely switching into Sandslash's weaknesses. Sandslash functions very well on offensive sand-based teams for obvious reasons; however, do keep in mind that a non-Choiced revenge-killer with Rapid Spin is also very valuable for bulky offense teams. Generally though, when Sandslash is not Spinning, it should be played rather conservatively in the earlier stages of a match, not going for risky moves until late in the game, when its threats have been snuffed out and planned against. Simply keep up the pressure until a path has been paved for Sandslash to ram through the opposing team. Patience is key to using this Sandslash.</p>

[I removed Lum Berry. Not to quote myself, but Jirachi and Jellicent (being the examples from the old analysis) shouldn't ever get the chance to status you. Jirachi, because you OHKO it anyway and out-speed in Sand. Jellicent, because Scald will straight-up kill your Sandslash, forget the possible burn. I added Leftovers, because if Sandslash is going to be a dedicated Spinner, they help a lot. I know it looks like there is a lot of bold and a lot of changes happening, but read the old analysis. Half of what I'm doing is simply emphasis on certain aspects.]

[Other Options]

<p>Unfortunately for Sandslash, its movepool is pretty dry, leaving it very few options to use. Like Excadrill, Sandslash can use Rock Slide over Stone Edge for a more reliable Rock-type attack. But Rock Slide's lower power often means it will fail to KO many of the threats it would be used against. Thundurus-T, for example, is KOed handily by Stone Edge, while Rock Slide requires it to have taken Stealth Rock damage. Dragonite and Salamence, two prominent sweepers, can be KOed by Stone Edge after Stealth Rock, but not by Rock Slide. With access to Stealth Rock, Super Fang, and Rapid Spin, Sandslash is capable of running a defensive set. However, Sandslash's terrible bulk on the special side often makes such a set difficult to run. Additionally, Donphan is able to run almost the same set, but with more bulk, more power, and the utility of Roar. Because of these attributes, Sandslash is poorly suited for such a set.</p>

<p>All of Sandslash's good move options have already been discussed, but its movepool goes on. Night Slash can be used for a super effective hit against Gengar when Sandslash lacks any boosts, but a +2 Stone Edge already does more than enough damage to quickly dispose of it. As far as other items go, Sandslash can use Soft Sand for the purpose of powering up its already strong Earthquake without the recoil of Life Orb. However, Sandslash's middling Attack stat once again rears its ugly head, and Stone Edge will find itself missing KOs without the power boost of Life Orb. Lum Berry is the only other item worth considering. It allows Sandslash to set up a Swords Dance on Jirachi without worrying about paralysis, and it means that Specially Defensive Sableye can no longer beat Sandslash. Unfortunately, most other status-spreaders (such as Jellicent or Specially Defensive Heatran) are still able to defeat Sandslash by harking on its other weaknesses.</p>

[I took out Return from here. It worked for Excadrill because Excadrill didn't need SE coverage: he was a powerhouse. But Sandslash is always going to want to be using a STAB or a super-effective move to account for his relatively low power, so Return just doesn't cut it. Sandslash already has 4MSS, and I honestly can never think of a scenario where Sandstorm would be useful to have. That's why I removed it. Lastly, I took out to SpD mention about Celebi. With X-Scissor, you OHKO Celebi. Without X-Scissor, you can't touch Celebi. So when is Celebi getting a chance to Giga Drain you again?]

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Foremost, changing the weather will effectively neuter Sandslash, quickly changing it into a slow, minor threat. Physical walls and sponges obviously work very well against Sandslash. Gliscor, Skarmory, bulky Rotom-W, and Landorus-T are just some examples of Pokemon that can place Sandslash in a sticky situation. Although it's not particularly bulky, Breloom's resistances to Earthquake and Stone Edge make it a great choice to combat Sandslash, retaliating with Bullet Seed or Spore. Sandslash also has some excellent counters in the lower tiers. Slowbro, Tangrowth, and Bronzong are able to tank hits from Sandslash all day and bring it down. It's also worth noting that Sandslash, while extremely fast in a sandstorm, can still be outpaced by a small portion of OU, namely Choice Scarf Latios and Keldeo, and OHKOed by the appropriate move. Though some physically based Choice Scarf users, such as Terrakion, are able to outspeed Sandslash, they must be careful because Sandslash can survive a hit and OHKO them in return if it is above 70%. Priority attacks are also useful for stopping a Sandslash sweep, but Sandslash's physical bulk means that it can shrug most of them off, the exceptions being those from Mamoswine, Choice Band Scizor or Dragonite, and Azumarill, and even these fail to KO Sandslash from full health. In the end, checking Sandslash will boil down to exploiting its mediocre offensive stats. Don't be intimidated by Sandslash's Speed stat as, with the appropriate Pokemon, it can be swiftly brought down through calm and intelligent play.</p>

[I mostly made this more relevant to what you actually see in OU. ie, Scarf Keldeo > Scarf Starmie, and Tangrowth's friends being mentioned as being in lower tiers.]

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[Overview]

<p>Sandslash is a Pokemon riddled with very exploitable weaknesses. With pitiful Speed and Special Defense stats, as well as a rather small offensive movepool, it's completely natural to reject the idea of using Sandslash in OU initially. However, with its Dream World ability—Sand Rush—Sandslash becomes a notable threat in the OU metagame. Being a Ground-type, Sandslash has access to a good physical movepool, passable bulk, and impeccable coverage in the celebrated EdgeQuake combination. Moreover, Sandslash can use Rapid Spin to great success—a feat which gives Sandslash even more of a reason to be used over its Sand Rush rival, Stoutland.</p>

<p>Despite all of its mentioned perks, Sandslash is by no means invincible. There are many, many Pokemon that can place Sandslash in a tight situation, usually through means of harping on its average offenses, feeble Special Defense stat, and / or inability to outpace a few notable threats after a Sand Rush boost. Proper team support and, more importantly, patience, are necessary when using Sandslash.</p>

<p>Sandslash can pull off a Swords Dance set similar in playstyle to Excadrill's to great success. After the activation of Sand Rush, Sandslash can reach a Speed stat as high as 502, giving it the ability to easily outpace and subsequently KO many of the more offensively oriented Pokemon in OU. The above choice of moves is ideal for Sandslash if it's to be used in OU. Swords Dance is the crux of this set, quickly boosting Sandslash's Attack stat to threatening levels. When backed by a Swords Dance boost, Sandslash is even capable of powering through some of OU's premier walls, which is something that Stoutland occasionally struggles with. Earthquake, being Sandslash's strongest STAB option, is capable of blasting through many of OU's grounded inhabitants while Stone Edge nails most of what resists or is immune to Earthquake. The use of Rock Slide in the place of Stone Edge will give Sandslash more reliable KOs on Volcarona, Salamence, and Thundurus-T, but the drop in power is clearly noticeable. However, the lack of power can be made up for in Rock Slide's flinch rate; very resilient Pokemon, namely Skarmory, will have a tough time getting past the potential flinch hax. Rapid Spin helps Sandslash maintain pressure on more defensive teams and gives it the ability to greatly support its own team; however, X-Scissor lets Sandslash power through bulky Psychic-types that take little or no damage from Earthquake, such as Celebi and Latias. It's important to note that even without Rapid Spin, Sandslash brings a lot of utility to its team due to being a potent revenge killer. Make the moveset choices which best accommodate your team.</p>

<p>The recommended EV spread is one that aims to simply give Sandslash as much speed and power as possible. With a Jolly nature, Sandslash can outpace many threatening Choice Scarf users such as Thundurus-T and KO them with the appropriate attack. A Jolly nature also ensures that Sandslash will be able to revenge kill all variants of Salamence, Haxorus, and Volcarona if they manage to net a single Speed boost from Dragon Dance or Quiver Dance, respectively. An Adamant nature is still a possibility on this Sandslash set as the power may come to be of use.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>Life Orb is recommended as the item of choice here as the power it gives to Sandslash is needed to muscle through some of OU's premier defensive Pokemon. Jellicent and 4/0 Breloom, for example, can be OHKOed by a Life Orb-boosted +2 Earthquake (though, keep in mind that said KOs are much easier to attain with an Adamant nature; if Sandslash is using a Jolly nature instead, it will very often fall short). If Sandslash's longevity is of more importance than its damage output, then running a Lum Berry instead of Life Orb could be greatly beneficial. With a Lum Berry, Sandslash can afford to stay in on many defensive Pokemon, such as Jellicent and Jirachi, without much worry of being crippled by status. On a similar note, try to stay away from using Leftovers. Leftovers, while tempting to use alongside Sandslash's fine physical bulk, is nowhere close to being as useful as a Lum Berry or Life Orb. If Sandslash's lifespan is truly that much of a concern, then use Wish support. Teammates exist for a reason; make use of the other five slots that Sandslash will be accompanied by.</p>

<p>Due to Sandslash's reliance on sandstorm being up and difficulty getting around physical walls, Tyranitar makes a superb partner for it. Tyranitar, with either a mixed or Choice Band set, can take out most of the Pokemon that give Sandslash problems while setting up a permanent sandstorm. If Sandslash is not using Rapid Spin, then it will attract many common users of Spikes and Stealth Rock, such as Skarmory, Forretress, and Hippowdon. This makes packing a user of Rapid Spin or Magic Bounce, particularly Xatu for its greater longevity, a very beneficial move. Gothitelle can trap and KO pretty much everything that Sandslash normally has trouble with, making it a fine choice as well if there's room for it on Sandslash's team. Sandslash functions very well on offensive sand-based teams for obvious reasons; however, do keep in mind that a non-Choice item using revenge killer with Rapid Spin is also very valuable for stall and bulky offense teams. Generally though, Sandslash should be played rather conservatively in the earlier stages of a match, not going for risky moves until its threats have been snuffed out and planned against. Simply keep up the pressure until a path has been paved for Sandslash to ram through the opposing team. Patience is key to using this Sandslash.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Unfortunately for Sandslash, its movepool is pretty dry, leaving it very few options to use. Like Excadrill, Sandslash can use Return for very good neutral coverage; Return also hits Flying-types and Levitating targets much more reliably than Stone Edge. With access to Stealth Rock, potent revenge killing capability granted by Sand Rush, and Super Fang, Sandslash can run a defensive set. However, running such a set will only waste Sandslash's potential, not to mention that other bulky Pokemon, such as Landorus-T, Donphan and Forretress, greatly outclass defensive Sandslash. Night Slash can be used for a similar reason against Gengar, but Stone Edge already does more than enough damage to quickly dispose of it. Sandslash can also make use of the move Sandstorm as a clutch method of maintaining weather control while also setting up a sweep for itself. Don't take this option too seriously though, as Sandslash will have a lot of trouble fitting Sandstorm onto the recommended set. As far as other items go, Sandslash can use Soft Sand for the purpose of powering up its already strong STAB Earthquake without the recoil of Life Orb.</p>

<p>It's possible to adjust the given spread to your liking as Sandslash could potentially benefit from the added bulk. For example, removing 28 EVs from Sandslash's Speed to outpace everything up to and including positive Speed natured Choice Scarf Hydreigon and moving them to Sandslash's Special Defense allows Sandslash to always survive defensive Celebi's Giga Drain. Feel free to experiment with Sandslash's EV spread, but keep note that Sandslash will more often than not be better off with maxed out Speed and Attack.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Foremost, changing the weather will effectively neuter Sandslash, quickly changing it into a slow, minor threat. Physical walls and sponges obviously work very well against Sandslash. Gliscor, Skarmory, bulky Rotom-W, Landorus-T, and Tangrowth are just some examples of Pokemon that can place Sandslash in a sticky situation. It's also worth noting that Sandslash, while extremely fast in a sandstorm, can still be outpaced by a good portion of OU, namely Choice Scarf Latios and Starmie, and OHKOed by the appropriate move. Though, physically based Choice Scarf users, such as Terrakion and Mienshao, must be careful because Sandslash, if left healthy, can survive a hit and OHKO them in return. Priority attacks are also useful against stopping a Sandslash sweep, but Sandslash has to have been weakened a bit beforehand before it can be revenge KOed by then. In the end, checking Sandslash will boil down to exploiting its mediocre offensive stats. Don't be intimidated by Sandslash's Speed stat as, with the appropriate Pokemon, it can be swiftly brought down through calm and intelligent play.</p>

The current sandslash analysis is fine. I might relegate Lum Berry to AC on the SCMS, but that's as far as it's going to go. The stuff you want to remove from ac/oo is fine there; take a look at some of the other analyses. You'll see all sorts of silly crap in OO. Everything listed at the moment is very sensible.

Well, I disagree with you jc about things being sensible, but whatever you think is best. I've got nothing personally invested in this analysis tbh, I just feel like "silly crap" is found in abundance in the current one. :/
If you're just gonna do a little SCMS and leave it at that, go for it though, I won't protest.

I know you're pretty passionate about Sandslash and you know your stuff, but we try to avoid revamping analyses if we can help. You brought up several acceptable changes though. Tell you what, you can C/P the current analysis, and write your changes in bold (and mention your "removals" in brackets). If they're acceptable, we can integrate them onsite without any trouble. Otherwise QC will handle the SCMS changes. Does that sound good?

I know you're pretty passionate about Sandslash and you know your stuff, but we try to avoid revamping analyses if we can help. You brought up several acceptable changes though. Tell you what, you can C/P the current analysis, and write your changes in bold (and mention your "removals" in brackets). If they're acceptable, we can integrate them onsite without any trouble. Otherwise QC will handle the SCMS changes. Does that sound good?

Click to expand...

You pegged me exactly right (I am actually just a Sandslash-jack trying to go nuts on one of his favorites, not going to hide it).

I'm thankful for your offer PK, and I take it gladly! Tbh, I had given up on this after shrang's post, and my though process after posting was "Oh well, I guess it's not going through. Wish I hadn't wasted half an hour on it." So you allowing me to edit the analysis a little is a much better deal than I expected!

Anyways, I'm grateful that this isn't being tossed aside, and I'll do just what you suggested next weekend (the flu is a bitch q.q).

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Overview -

Just beef it up a little. Add another sentence about Sandslash's stats holding it back, but it's ability and typing making up for it. Tell (in a single sentence) why you're using a Sandslash and not a Stoutland.

Set/Set Comments -

Rock Slide goes to OO. The accuracy is nice, but you can't revenge-kill with it. For example, Thundurus-T, Tornadus-T, and offensive Abomasnow are all straight-up OHKOed by Stone Edge, but you need SR on the field to nab the kill with Rock Slide. Also, Dragonite, Salamence, and Gyarados can be OHKOed after SR with Stone Edge, but Rock Slide fails to kill them even after SR damage. In short, Rock Slide fails to revenge-kill anything.

Lum Berry removed from the analysis. It's just not helpful, ever. The current analysis mentions Jellicent and Jirachi as good reasons to use Lum. These are both terrible examples though. Jirachi should never even get the chance to status you, because you out-speed and OHKO it with EQ. As for Jellicent, it cares less if it statuses you or not, seeing as how an uninvested Scald is doing 83% damage minimum to Sandslash. Sandslash shouldn't have to deal with status. It pokes in and out to do it's job. It's not a wallbreaker like Haxorus. So yeah, Lum Berry needs to get out.

I'd like to remove Adamant Nature from the analysis. A huge number of the relevant Scarfers/boosters in the entire metagame fall into the 95ish-102 range, and I've yet to see anyone provide a list of KOes that Adamant grants and Jolly does not. That said, I understand that QC is probably going to want to keep Adamant on something with such an “only decent” Attack, so I request that it be moved to AC instead.

Add Leftovers to AC. Mention that Sandslash is horribly, horribly weak with Leftovers, but that if it's your team's only Spinner, then it does suck to take LO damage every time you Spin (Starmie gets away with it because of Recover).

Other Options -

Remove all mentions of the defensive set. It was a clever thought, and Sandslash does have moves to do it, but... I'm going to be frank. It's a bad set, and, with respect to QC, I'm not sure how it got into the analysis in the first place. Defensive Sandslash is an inferior version of Donphan, where it trades bulk, power, and phazing for speed. Other people see what I'm talking about, right? Although I might want to keep Super Fang. It's pretty bad, but a free 50% off Skarmory/Gliscor could be nice on a heavily physical team.

Remove the mention of SpDef investment. Sandslash shouldn't ever be taking a Giga Drain from Celebi, whether or not it would survive. If Sandslash has X-Scissor, then great, it can out-speed and OHKO Celebi, thus avoiding the Giga Drain in the first place. If Sandslash doesn't have X-Scissor, then why is it staying in against Celebi in the first place? It can't hurt Celebi without X-Scissor, and getting a last Spin off is rarely worth suiciding your Spinner. There's no reason to need to survive Celebi's Giga Drain, and so it shouldn't be mentioned in the analysis IMO.

Remove Return. I can't think of anything that it hits harder than your current coverage.

Take out the move Sandstorm. Sandslash actually 4MSS to a slight degree already. I would only use Sandstorm if I had 7 or 8 moveslots available.

Checks/Counters -

Mostly keep this the same. Perhaps make it a little more relevant to the metagame though. For example, replace Scarf Starmie with Scarf Keldeo. Also, I might separate Tangrowth from other checks, and put it into two small paragraphs, “OU counters” and “Lower tier counters”. The OU Counters would be things like bulky Rotom-W, Skarmory, Gliscor, Landorus (Therian and Incarnate). The Lower tier counters would be things like Slowbro, Bronzong, Tangrowth. Lastly, mention how CB Scizor and Mamoswine are really the only priority strong enough to use against Sandslash, and a very healthy Sandslash can even take those.

Updated OP with my changes to analysis, as PK told to me to. Hope I got the bolding/brackets right, because I didn't really have an example to go off of for the formatting of doing something like this.

I tried to stick to my guns and implement all the changes that I originally wanted to, but I also felt the urge to compromise. After reading jc's comment about the things that end up in analyses, I realized how anal and up-tight I was being. So I did leave the defensive set in OO for example. Adamant made it into the set comments, before AC. I know that for the most part, I did it how I wanted to, but I feel like there is a tad bit of compromise in it. That said, go nuts on it QC. Rip me a new one.

You forgot to note Gothitelle's main attribute on a sand team; it's ability to demolish Politoed / Ninetales / Abomasnow to win the weather war.

Xatu is also a notable partner for pretty much cock-blocking many of the popular Grass-types of OU, namely Breloom, Celebi, and Amoonguss, so you should take note of that.

Latios / Latias / Kyurem-B will certainly be useful teammates for Sandslash, providing its team some much needed defensive against Rain and Grass hits. For similar reasons, Grass-types are also handy defensive teammates to have.

Also no mention of Magnezone to remove pesky Steel-types?

Other Options:

Specify what KOs that Rock Slide exactly loses out on that Stone Edge obtains.

I wont rule out Lum Berry - it allows Sandslash to set up right in front of Jirachi without worrying about the potential paraslam. Additionally, Lum Berry would most likely be its best bet against Sableye, who would otherwise be a major nuisance. Some Jellicent also abandoned Scald for Shadow Ball, too, so Lum will also come in handy here, too.

Checks and Counters:

Remove Breloom under the priority examples; unless it's CB Breloom, Tech Mach Punch wouldn't be doing much damage to Sandslash. CB Dragonite and CB Azumarill are much more pertinent threats to Sandslash in regards to priority. You can mention how defensive Breloom can tank boosted EdgeQuake and retaliate with Spore / Seed Bomb, though.

Though some physically based Choice Scarf users, such as Terrakion, are able to outspeed Sandslash, they must be careful because Sandslash, if left healthy, can survive a hit and OHKO them in return.

Click to expand...

Again be more specific here: mention that unless Sandslash's health has been whittled down to ~65%, revenging with Terrakion would be very risky.

Hey, Sandshrew is legit! You ever WATCHED that episode? He almost had 100 wins!

Add blue cut red comments

Edit: Eh I guess I see your point, so a GP member probably needs to decide this

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<p>Sandslash is a Pokemon riddled with very exploitable weaknesses. With pitiful Speed and Special Defense stats, as well as a rather small offensive movepool, it's completely natural to reject the idea of using Sandslash in OU initially. However, with its Dream World ability—Sand Rush—Sandslash becomes a notable threat in the OU metagame. Being a Ground-type, Sandslash has access to a decent movepool, passable bulk on the physical sidebulk, and impeccable coverage in the celebrated EdgeQuake combinationfor impeccable coverage. Moreover, Sandslash's access to Rapid Spin allows it to serve as a fearsome offensive Rapid Spinner for Sand teams. Sandslash's movepool, notably Swords Dance and Rapid Spin, give it strongis the reasons to be used it over the faster and bulkier Stoutland, who also has access to Sand Rush.</p>
<p>Despite all of its mentioned perks, Sandslash is by no means invincible. TherDue are many, many Pokemon that can place Sandslash in a tight situation, usually through means of harping on its average offenses, feeble Special Defense stat, and / or inability to outpace a few notable threats aftin Sandstorm, there are many, many Pokemon that can place Sand Ruslash boostin a tight situation. Additionally, Sandslash is much less of a team player than other Pokemon, as changing the weather makes it very slow and vulnerable. Proper team support and, more importantly, patience, are necessary when using Sandslash.</p>

[SET]
name: Swords Dance
move 1: Swords Dance
move 2: Earthquake
move 3: Stone Edge
move 4: Rapid Spin / X-Scissor
item: Life Orb
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 Def / 252 Spe
[Set Comments]
<p>Sandslash can pull off a Swords Dance set similar in playstyle to Excadrill's towith great success. After the activation ofIn Sand Rushstorm, Sandslash can reaches a Speed stat as high asof 502, giving it the ability to easily outpace and subsequently KO many of the more offensively oriented Pokemon in OU. The above choice of moves is ideal for Sandslash if it's to be used in OU. Swords Dance is the crux of this set, quickly boosting Sandslash's Attack stat to threatening levels. When backed by a Swords Dance boost, Sandslash is even capable of powering through some of OU's premier walls, which is something that Stoutland occasionally struggles with. Earthquake, being Sandslash's strongest STAB option, is capable of blasting through many of OU's grounded inhabitants while Stone Edge nails most of what resists or is immune to Earthquake. Rapid Spin helps Sandslash maintain pressure on more defensive teams and gives it the ability to greatly support its own team; however, X-Scissor lets Sandslash power through bulky Psychic-types that take little or no damage from Earthquake, such as Celebi and Latias. Make the moveset choices which best accommodates your team.</p>

<p>The recommended EV spread is one that aims to simply give Sandslash as much speed and power as possible. With a Jolly nature, Sandslash is able to outpace the majority of the metagame under Sand, everything up to and including Choice Scarf Garchomp. A Jolly nature also enables S, and thus candslash to serve as a potent revenge-killer, KOing threats such as Scarf Thundurus-T, as well as+1 Volcarona after a Quiver Dance, and +1 Salamence, Dragonite, and Gyarados after a Dragon Dance. However, do note that Stealth Rock will be necessary for some of these KOes. Using an Adamant nature on this set is a perfectly acceptable choice, as it allows Sandslash to serve as a superior Rapid Spinner. For example, a +2 Earthquake from Adamant Sandslash will almost always KO Jellicent after Stealth Rock, while Jolly Sandslash will fail to do so most of the time. Just beware that with an Adamant nature, Sandslash's revenge-killing capabilities will be severely handicapped, as it can now be out-sped by Choice Scarf Landorus-T and everything faster.</p>

[Additional Comments]
<p>Life Orb is recommended as the item of choice here, as the power it gives to Sandslash is needed to muscle through some of OU's premier defensive Pokemon. Jellicent and 4/0 Breloom, for example, can be OHKOed by a Life Orb-boosted +2 Earthquake. If Sandslash's longevity is of more importance than its damage output, then running Leftovers instead of Life Orb can be a viable choice. Leftovers will serve Sandslash well if his role on the team is primarily his ability to Rapid Spin, as it will allow him to come in and Sspin more times throughout the match. However, Sandslash's Attack stat is not superb, and you may find that Sandslash is constantly losing out on KOes without a Life Orb to compensate. If Sandslash's lifespan is truly of great concern, then Wish support may be a better way to keep it healthy. Teammates exist for a reason; make use of the other five slots that Sandslash will be accompanied by.</p>
<p>Due to Sandslash's reliance on sandstorm being up and difficulty getting around physical walls, Tyranitar makes a superb partner for it. Tyranitar, with either a mixed or Choice Band set, can take out most of the Pokemon that give Sandslash problems, while setting up a permanent sandstorm. If Sandslash is not using Rapid Spin, then it will attract many common users of Spikes and Stealth Rock, such as Skarmory, Forretress, and Hippowdon. This makes packing a user of Rapid Spin or Magic Bounce a very beneficial move, particularly Xatu for its longevity with Roost and its ability to go toe-to-toe with the Grass-types which can plague Sandslash, a very beneficial move. Gothitelle can trap and KO pretty much everything that Sandslash normally has trouble with, including Skarmory and Gliscor (which otherwise wall Sandslash hoplelessly), and especially Ninetales and Politoed, preventing them from crippling Sandslash with their respective weather. Another excellent trapping partner is Magnezone, who can easily remove Skarmory, Forretress, orand Ferrothorn, all of whom are obstacles to a Sandslash sweep. Bulky Pokemon who resist Grass or Water moves, such as either of the Lati twins, Kyurem-B, or even Grass-types themselves, make superb partners for Sandslash, freely switching into Sandslash's weaknesses. Sandslash functions very well on offensive sand-based teams for obvious reasons; however, do keep in mind that a non-Choiced revenge-killer with Rapid Spin is also very valuable for bulky offense teams. Generally though, when Sandslash is not Spinning, it should be played rather conservatively in the earlier stages of a match, not going for risky moves until late in the game, when its threats have been snuffed out and planned against. Simply keep up the pressure until a path has been paved for Sandslash to ram through the opposing team. Patience is key to using this Sandslash.</p>

[Other Options]
<p>Unfortunately for Sandslash, its movepool is pretty dry, leaving it very few options to use. Like Excadrill, Sandslash can use Rock Slide over Stone Edge for a more reliable Rock-type attack. But Rock Slide's lower power often means it will fail to KO many of the threats it would be used against. Thundurus-T, for example, is KOed handily by Stone Edge, while Rock Slide requires it to have taken Stealth Rock damage. Dragonite and Salamence, two prominent sweepers, can be KOed by Stone Edge after Stealth Rock, but not by Rock Slide. With access to Stealth Rock, Super Fang, and Rapid Spin, Sandslash is capable of running a defensive set. However, Sandslash's terrible bulk on the special side, oftenbulk makes such a set difficult to run. Additionally,, and Donphan is able to run almost the same set, but with more bulk, more power, and the utility of Roar. Because of these attributes,, so Sandslash becomes poorly suited for such a set, and greatly outclassed by Donphan in that regard.</p>
<p>All of Sandslash's good move options have already been discussed, but its movepool goes on. Night Slash can be used for a super-effective hit against Gengar when Sandslash lacks any boosts, but a +2 Stone Edge already does more than enough damage to quickly dispose of it. As far as other items go, Sandslash can use Soft Sand for the purpose of powering up its already strong STAB Earthquake without the recoil of Life Orb. However, Sandslash's middling Attack stat once again rears its ugly head, and Stone Edge will find itself missing KOes without the power boost of Life Orb. Lum Berry is the only other item worth considering. It, allowsing Sandslash to set up a Swords Dance on Jirachi without worrying about paralysis, and it mbeans that Sspecially Ddefensive Sableye can no longer beat Sandslash. Unfortunately, most other status-spreaders (such as Jellicent or Sspecially Ddefensive Heatran) are still able to defeat Sandslash by hartaking advantage on its other weaknesses.</p>
[Checks and Counters]
<p>Foremost, changing the weather will effectively neuter Sandslash, quickly changing it into a slow, minor threat. Physical walls and sponges obviously work very well, such against Sandslash. In the OU tier, Gliscor, Skarmory, bulky Rotom-W, and Landorus-T are just some examples of Pokemon that can, place Sandslash in a sticky situation. Although it's not particularly bulky, Breloom's resistances to Earthquake and Stone Edge make it a great choice to combat Sandslash, retaliating with Bullet Seed or Spore. Sandslash also has some excellent counters in the lower tiers. Slowbro, Tangrowth, and Bronzong are able to tank hits from Sandslash all day and bring it down. It's also worth noting that Sandslash, while extremely fast in a sandstorm, can still be outpaced by a small portion of OU, namely Choice Scarf Latios and Keldeo, and OHKOed by the appropriate move. Though some physically based Choice Scarf users, such as Terrakion, are is able to outspeed Sandslash, ithey must be careful because if Sandslash is above ~70%, it can actually survive a hiClose Combat and OHKO ithem in return if it is above ~70%. Priority attacks are also useful for stopping a Sandslash sweep, but Sandslash's physical bulk means that it can shrug most of them off, the exceptions being those from Mamoswine, CB Scizor or Dragonite, and Azumarill, and even these fail to KO Sandslash from full health. In the end, checking Sandslash will boil down to exploiting its mediocre offensive stats. Don't be intimidated by Sandslash's Speed stat as, with the appropriate Pokemon, it can be swiftly brought down through calm and intelligent play.</p>

Comments:
Sandslash is by no means invincible? Kind of weird espc. since they are not defensive perks. Maybe another adjective?
I cut out the sentence about Slash's moves in the SD set being the best in OU. I mean, if it wasn't, you wouldn't have put them there, especially unslashed.
Also, I think we know EQ is his strongest STAB and all that. (I don't even think a stronger ground-type move exists)
Stoutland more than occasionally struggles with wallbreaking, by the way.
You say "OU's Premier defensive pokemon", then mention 4/0 Breloom. It's important, but maybe mention another, more defensive threat?
I don't like "a very beneficial move". Keep it if you must.
I don't think you can say lati twins. Not going to change it, but you might want to. I'll find out after posting this anyhow.
Also, Ice resists switch into his Ice weakness nicely.
I get what you meant by his movepool being dry but that needs fixing.
Uhm, Scarfrak also outspeeds him, so maybe you just mention those three outspeed him and say "but only the former 2 can OHKO him without significant prior damage".
Also, what other Physical Scarfer is around there and needs 70% damage?

Hey, Sandshrew is legit! You ever WATCHED that episode? He almost had 100 wins!

Comments:
Sandslash is by no means invincible? Kind of weird espc. since they are not defensive perks. Maybe another adjective?
I cut out the sentence about Slash's moves in the SD set being the best in OU. I mean, if it wasn't, you wouldn't have put them there, especially unslashed.
Also, I think we know EQ is his strongest STAB and all that. (I don't even think a stronger ground-type move exists)
Stoutland more than occasionally struggles with wallbreaking, by the way.
You say "OU's Premier defensive pokemon", then mention 4/0 Breloom. It's important, but maybe mention another, more defensive threat?
I don't like "a very beneficial move". Keep it if you must.
I don't think you can say lati twins. Not going to change it, but you might want to. I'll find out after posting this anyhow.
Also, Ice resists switch into his Ice weakness nicely.
I get what you meant by his movepool being dry but that needs fixing.
Uhm, Scarfrak also outspeeds him, so maybe you just mention those three outspeed him and say "but only the former 2 can OHKO him without significant prior damage".
Also, what other Physical Scarfer is around there and needs 70% damage?

Click to expand...

But his 100th win would've been a rematch against Pikachu, so it shouldn't have counted! :/

A lot of your comments had to do with writing that I left unchanged from the original analysis. Other than making my content edits, I tried to leave as much of the original writing alone as possible. If GP wants, I'm totally willing to go in and re-write some parts, I just didn't think I was supposed to.

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[Overview]

<p>Sandslash is a Pokemon riddled with very exploitable weaknesses. With pitiful Speed and Special Defense stats, as well as a rather small offensive movepool, it's completely natural to reject the idea of using Sandslash in OU initially. However, with its Dream World ability—Sand Rush—Sandslash becomes a notable threat in the OU metagame. Being a Ground-type, Sandslash has access to a decent movepool, passable bulk on the physical side, and impeccable coverage in the celebrated EdgeQuake combination. Moreover, Sandslash's access to Rapid Spin allows it to serve as a fearsome offensive Rapid Spinner for sand teams. Sandslash's movepool, notably Swords Dance and Rapid Spin, give it strong reasons to be used over the faster and bulkier Stoutland, who which also has access to Sand Rush.</p>

<p>Despite all of its mentioned perks, Sandslash is by no means invincible. There are many, many Pokemon that can place Sandslash in a tight situation, usually through means of harping on its average offenses, feeble Special Defense stat, and / or inability to outpace a few notable threats after a Sand Rush boost. Additionally, Sandslash is much less of a team player than other Pokemon, as changing the weather makes it very slow and vulnerable. Proper team support and, more importantly, patience, are necessary when using Sandslash.</p>

<p>Sandslash can pull off a Swords Dance set similar in playstyle to Excadrill's to great success. After the activation of Sand Rush, Sandslash can reach a Speed stat as high as 502, giving it the ability to easily outpace and subsequently KO many of the more offensively oriented Pokemon in OU. The above choice of moves is ideal for Sandslash if it's to be used in OU. Swords Dance is the crux of this set, quickly boosting Sandslash's Attack stat to threatening levels. When backed by a Swords Dance boost, Sandslash is even capable of powering through some of OU's premier walls, which is something that Stoutland occasionally struggles with. Earthquake, being Sandslash's strongest STAB option, is capable of blasting through many of OU's grounded inhabitants while Stone Edge nails most of what resists or is immune to Earthquake. Rapid Spin helps Sandslash maintain pressure on more defensive teams and gives it the ability to greatly support its own team; however, X-Scissor lets Sandslash power through bulky Psychic-types that take little or no damage from Earthquake, such as Celebi and Latias. Make the moveset choices which best accommodate your team.</p>

<p>The recommended EV spread is one that aims to simply give Sandslash as much speed and power as possible. With a Jolly nature, Sandslash is able to outpace the majority of the metagame under sand, everything up to and including Choice Scarf Garchomp. A Jolly nature also enables Sandslash to serve as a potent revenge killer, KOing threats such as Scarf Thundurus-T, as well as Volcarona after a Quiver Dance, and Salamence, Dragonite, and Gyarados after a Dragon Dance. However, do note that Stealth Rock will be necessary for some of these KOes. Using an Adamant nature on this set is a perfectly acceptable choice, as it allows Sandslash to serve as a superior Rapid Spinner. For example, a +2 Earthquake from Adamant Sandslash will almost always KO Jellicent after Stealth Rock, while Jolly Sandslash will fail to do so most of the time. Just beware that with an Adamant nature, Sandslash's revenge killing capabilities will be severely handicapped, as it can now be outsped by Choice Scarf Landorus-T and everything faster.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>Life Orb is recommended as the item of choice here as the power it gives to Sandslash is needed to muscle through some of OU's premier defensive Pokemon. Jellicent and 4/0 Breloom, for example, can be OHKOed by a Life Orb-boosted +2 Earthquake. If Sandslash's longevity is of more importance than its damage output, then running Leftovers instead of Life Orbcan be a viable choice. Leftovers will serve Sandslash well if his its (WHOA, WHOA, whoa. Make sure that all of these its/hes are consistent. Switching "it" to "he" is acceptable, but it's got to be the same in the analysis, and this is starting to diverge a little. I'm really not going to pay any more attention to these changes if they come up and leave it to you) role on the team is primarily his ability to Rapid Spin, as it will allow him to come in and Spin more times throughout the match. However, Sandslash's Attack stat is not superb, and you may find that Sandslash is constantly losing out on KOs without a Life Orb to compensate. If Sandslash's lifespan is truly of great concern, then Wish support may be a better way to keep it healthy. Teammates exist for a reason; make use of the other five slots that Sandslash will be accompanied by.</p>

<p>Due to Sandslash's reliance on sandstorm being up and difficulty getting around physical walls, Tyranitar makes a superb partner for it. Tyranitar, with either a mixed or Choice Band set, can take out most of the Pokemon that give Sandslash problems, (RC) while setting up a permanent sandstorm. If Sandslash is not using Rapid Spin, then it will attract many common users of Spikes and Stealth Rock, such as Skarmory, Forretress, and Hippowdon. This makes packing another user of Rapid Spin or Magic Bounce a very beneficial move, particularly Xatu for its longevity with Roost and its ability to go toe-to-toe with the Grass-types which can plague Sandslash. Gothitelle can trap and KO pretty much everything that Sandslash normally has trouble with, including Skarmory and Gliscor (which otherwise wall Sandslash hoplelessly), and especially Ninetales and Politoed, preventing them from crippling Sandslash with their respective weather. Another excellent trapping partner is Magnezone, who which can easily remove Skarmory, Forretress, or Ferrothorn, all of whom which are obstacles to a Sandslash sweep. Bulky Pokemon who that resist Grass- or Water-type moves, such as either of the Lati twins Latias, Latios, Kyurem-B, or even Grass-types themselves, make superb partners for Sandslash, freely switching into Sandslash's weaknesses. Sandslash functions very well on offensive sand-based teams for obvious reasons; however, do keep in mind that a non-Choiced revenge-killer with Rapid Spin is also very valuable for bulky offense teams. Generally though, when Sandslash is not Spinning, it should be played rather conservatively in the earlier stages of a match, not going for risky moves until late in the game, when its threats have been snuffed out and planned against. Simply keep up the pressure until a path has been paved for Sandslash to ram through the opposing team. Patience is key to using this Sandslash.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Unfortunately for Sandslash, its movepool is pretty dry, leaving it very few options to use. Like Excadrill, Sandslash can use Rock Slide over Stone Edge for a more reliable Rock-type attack. But Rock Slide's lower power often means it will fail to KO many of the threats it would be used against. Thundurus-T, for example, is KOed handily by Stone Edge, while Rock Slide requires it to have taken Stealth Rock damage. Dragonite and Salamence, two prominent sweepers, can be KOed by Stone Edge after Stealth Rock, but not by Rock Slide. With access to Stealth Rock, Super Fang, and Rapid Spin, Sandslash is capable of running a defensive set. However, Sandslash's terrible bulk on the special side, (RC) often makes such a set difficult to run. Additionally, Donphan is able to run almost the same set, but with more bulk, more power, and the utility of Roar. Because of these attributes, Sandslash becomes poorly suited for such a set, and greatly outclassed by Donphan in that regard.</p>

<p>All of Sandslash's good move options have already been discussed, but its movepool goes on. Night Slash can be used for a super effective hit against Gengar when Sandslash lacks any boosts, but a +2 Stone Edge already does more than enough damage to quickly dispose of it. As far as other items go, Sandslash can use Soft Sand for the purpose of powering up its already strong STAB Earthquake without the recoil of Life Orb. However, Sandslash's middling Attack stat once again rears its ugly head, and Stone Edge will find itself missing KOes without the power boost of Life Orb. Lum Berry is the only other item worth considering. It allows Sandslash to set up a Swords Dance on Jirachi without worrying about paralysis, and it means that Specially Defensive Sableye can no longer beat Sandslash. Unfortunately, most other status-spreaders (such as Jellicent or Specially Defensive Heatran) are still able to defeat Sandslash by harking on its other weaknesses.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Foremost, changing the weather will effectively neuter Sandslash, quickly changing it into a slow, minor threat. Physical walls and sponges obviously work very well against Sandslash. In the OU tier, Gliscor, Skarmory, bulky Rotom-W, and Landorus-T are just some examples of Pokemon that can place Sandslash in a sticky situation. Although it's not particularly bulky, Breloom's resistances to Earthquake and Stone Edge make it a great choice to combat Sandslash, retaliating with Bullet Seed or Spore. Sandslash also has some excellent counters in the lower tiers. Slowbro, Tangrowth, and Bronzong are able to tank hits from Sandslash all day and bring it down. It's also worth noting that Sandslash, while extremely fast in a sandstorm, can still be outpaced by a small portion of OU, namely Choice Scarf Latios and Keldeo, and OHKOed by the appropriate move. Though some physically based Choice Scarf users, such as Terrakion, are able to outspeed Sandslash, they must be careful because Sandslash can oftenactually survive a hit and OHKO them in return if it is above ~70%. Priority attacks are also useful for stopping a Sandslash sweep, but Sandslash's physical bulk means that it can shrug most of them off, the exceptions being those from Mamoswine, Choice Band Scizor or Dragonite, and Azumarill, and even these fail to KO Sandslash from full health. In the end, checking Sandslash will boil down to exploiting its mediocre offensive stats. Don't be intimidated by Sandslash's Speed stat as, with the appropriate Pokemon, it can be swiftly brought down through calm and intelligent play.</p>

Most of these work well, this was a nice choice to blend the old analysis with the new one.
[gp]1/2[/gp]

1) Made all of the "his" into "its". I don't know why they weren't all its in the first place.
2) Turned "becomes" into "is" on last sentence of 1st paragraph of OO. This reads better imo.
3) Turned "KOes" into "KOs" in 2nd paragraph of OO. This is consistent with Gato doing the same thing earlier.
4) Removed "often" from the Terrakion bit in Checks&Counters. It won't often survive a hit, it always will.

Hide(Move your mouse to the hide area to reveal the content)Show HideHide Hide

[Overview]

<p>Sandslash is a Pokemon riddled with very exploitable weaknesses. With pitiful Speed and Special Defense stats, as well as a rather small offensive movepool, it's completely natural to reject the idea of using Sandslash in OU initially. However, with its Dream World ability—Sand Rush—Sandslash becomes a notable threat in the OU metagame. Being a Ground-type, Sandslash has access to a decent movepool, passable bulk on the physical side, and nearly impeccable coverage in the celebrated EdgeQuake combination. Moreover, Sandslash's access to Rapid Spin allows it to serve as a fearsome offensive Rapid Spinner for Sand teams. Sandslash's movepool, notably Swords Dance and Rapid Spin, gives it strong reasons to be used over the faster and bulkier Stoutland, who also has access to Sand Rush.</p>

<p>Despite all of its mentioned perks, Sandslash is by no means invincible. There are many, many Pokemon that can place Sandslash in a tight situation, usually through means of harping on its average offenses, feeble Special Defense stat, and / or inability to outpace a few notable threats after a Sand Rush boost. Additionally, Sandslash is much less of a team player than other Pokemon, as changing the weather makes it very slow and vulnerable. Proper team support and, more importantly, patience, are necessary when using Sandslash.</p>

<p>Sandslash can pull off a Swords Dance set similar in playstyle to Excadrill's to great success. After the activation of Sand Rush, Sandslash can reach a Speed stat as high as 502, giving it the ability to easily outpace and subsequently KO many of the more offensively oriented Pokemon in OU. The above choice of moves is ideal for Sandslash if it's to be used in OU. Swords Dance is the crux of this set, quickly boosting Sandslash's Attack stat to threatening levels. When backed by a Swords Dance boost, Sandslash is even capable of powering through some of OU's premier walls, which is something that Stoutland occasionally struggles with. Earthquake, being Sandslash's strongest STAB option, is capable of blasting through many of OU's grounded inhabitants while Stone Edge nails most of what resists or is immune to Earthquake. Rapid Spin helps Sandslash maintain pressure on more defensive teams and gives it the ability to greatly support its own team; however, X-Scissor lets Sandslash power through bulky Psychic-types that take little or no damage from Earthquake, such as Celebi and Latias. Make the moveset choices which best accommodate your team.</p>

<p>The recommended EV spread is one that aims to simply give Sandslash as much speed and power as possible. With a Jolly nature, Sandslash is able to outpaces the majority of the metagame under Ssand, everything up to and including Choice Scarf Garchomp and everything slower. A Jolly nature also enables Sandslash to serve as a potent revenge- killer, KOing threats such as Scarf Thundurus-T, as well as Volcarona after a Quiver Dance, and Salamence, Dragonite, and Gyarados after a Dragon Dance. However, do note that Stealth Rock will be necessary for some of these KOes. Using an Adamant nature on this set is a perfectly acceptable choice, as it allows Sandslash to serve as a superior Rapid Spinner. For example, a +2 Earthquake from Adamant Sandslash will almost always KO Jellicent after Stealth Rock, while Jolly Sandslash will fail to do so most of the time. Just beware that with an Adamant nature, Sandslash's revenge- killing capabilities will be severely handicapped, as it can nowill be out-sped(one word) by Choice Scarf Landorus-T and everything faster.</p>

[Additional Comments]

<p>Life Orb is recommended as the item of choice here as the power it gives to Sandslash is needed to muscle through some of OU's premier defensive Pokemon. Jellicent and 4/0 (spaces between slashes) Breloom, for example, can be OHKOed by a Life Orb-boosted +2 Earthquake. If Sandslash's longevity is of more importance than its damage output, then running Leftovers instead can beis a viable choice. Leftovers will serve Sandslash well if its role on the team is primarily its ability to Rapid Spin, as it will allow himit to come in and Spin more times throughout the match. However, Sandslash's Attack is not superb, and you may find that Sandslash is constantly losing out on KOs without a Life Orb to compensate. If Sandslash's lifespan is truly of great concern, then Wish support may be a better way to keep it healthy. Teammates exist for a reason; make use of the other five slots that Sandslash will be accompanied by.</p>

<p>Due to Sandslash's reliance on sandstorm being up and difficulty getting around physical walls, Tyranitar makes a superb partner for it. Tyranitar, with either a mixed or Choice Band set, can take out most of the Pokemon that give Sandslash problems while setting up a permanent sandstorm. If Sandslash is not using Rapid Spin, then it will attract many common users of Spikes and Stealth Rock, such as Skarmory, Forretress, and Hippowdon. This makes packing another user of Rapid Spin or Magic Bounce a very beneficial move, particularly Xatu for its longevity with Roost and its ability to go toe-to-toe with the Grass-types whichthat can plague Sandslash. Gothitelle can trap and KO pretty much everything that Sandslash normally has trouble with, including Skarmory and Gliscor (which otherwise wall Sandslash hocomplelesstely), and especially Ninetales and Politoed, preventing them from crippling Sandslash with their respective weather. Another excellent trapping partner is Magnezone, which can easily remove Skarmory, Forretress, orand Ferrothorn, all of which are obstacles to a Sandslash sweep. Bulky Pokemon that resist Grass- or Water-type moves, such as Latias, Latios, Kyurem-B, or even Grass-types themselves, make superb partners for Sandslash, as they can freely switching into Sandslash's weaknesses. Sandslash functions very well on offensive sand-based teams for obvious reasons; however, do keep in mind that a non-Choiced revenge- killer with Rapid Spin is also very valuable for bulky offense teams. Generally though, when Sandslash is not Spinning, it should be played rather conservatively in the earlier stages of a match, not going for risky moves until late in the game, when its threats have been snuffed out and planned against. Simply keep up the pressure until a path has been paved for Sandslash to ram through the opposing team. Patience is key to using this Sandslash.</p>

[Other Options]

<p>Unfortunately for Sandslash, its movepool is pretty dry, leaving it very few options to use. Like Excadrill, Sandslash can use Rock Slide over Stone Edge for a more reliable Rock-type attack. But Rock Slide's lower power often means it will fail to OHKO many of the threats it would be used against. Thundurus-T, for example, is KOed handily by Stone Edge, while Rock Slide requires it to have taken Stealth Rock damage. Dragonite and Salamence, two prominent sweepers, can be OHKOed by Stone Edge after Stealth Rock, but not by Rock Slide. With access to Stealth Rock, Super Fang, and Rapid Spin, Sandslash is capable of running a defensive set. However, Sandslash's terrible bulk on the special side often makes such a set difficult to run. Additionally, Donphan is able to run almost the same set, but with more bulk, more power, and the utility of Roar. Because of these attributefactors, Sandslash is poorly suited for such a set.</p>

<p>All of Sandslash's good move options have already been discussed, but its movepool goes on. Night Slash can be used for a super effective hit against Gengar when Sandslash lacks any boosts, but a +2 Stone Edge already does more than enough damage to quickly dispose of it. As far as other items go, Sandslash can use Soft Sand for the purpose of powering up its already strong Earthquake without the recoil of Life Orb. However, Sandslash's middling Attack stat once again rears its ugly head, and Stone Edge will find itself missing KOs without the power boost of Life Orb. Lum Berry is the only other item worth considering. It allows Sandslash to set up a Swords Dance on Jirachi without worrying about paralysis, and it means that Sspecially Ddefensive Sableye can no longer beat Sandslash. Unfortunately, most other status-spreaders (such as, including Jellicent or Sand specially Ddefensive Heatran,(comma) are still able to defeat Sandslash by hartaking advantage onf its other weaknesses.</p>

[Checks and Counters]

<p>Foremost, changing the weather will effectively neuter Sandslash, quickly changing it into a slow, minor threat. Physical walls and sponges obviously work very well against Sandslash. Gliscor, Skarmory, bulky Rotom-W, and Landorus-T are just some examples of Pokemon that can place Sandslash in a sticky situation. Although Breloom it's not particularly bulky, Breloomit's resistances to Earthquake and Stone Edge make it a great choice to combat Sandslash, and it can retaliatinge with Bullet Seed or Spore. Sandslash also has some excellent counters in the lower tiers. Slowbro, Tangrowth, and Bronzong are able to tank hits from Sandslash all day and bring it down. It's also worth noting that Sandslash, while extremely fast in a sandstorm, can still be outpaced by a small portion of OU, namely Choice Scarf Latios and Choice Scarf Keldeo, and get OHKOed by the appropriate move. Though some physically based Choice Scarf users, such as Terrakion, are able to outspeed Sandslash, they must be careful because Sandslash can survive a hit and OHKO them in return if it is above 70%. Priority attacks are also useful for stopping a Sandslash sweep, but Sandslash's physical bulk means that it can shrug most of them off, the exceptions being those from Mamoswine, Choice Band Scizor or, Choice Band Dragonite, and Azumarill, and even these fail to KO Sandslash from full health. In the end, checking Sandslash will boil down to exploiting its mediocre offensive stats. Don't be intimidated by Sandslash's Speed stat as, with the appropriate Pokemon, it can be swiftly brought down through calm and intelligent play.</p>